The Rose Tattoo
by The-Shadows-of-War
Summary: It all started as a bet, a friendly competition between the members of team RWBY to see who could kill the most Grimm in one minute. It became so much bigger than that.
1. Summary

It all started as a bet, a friendly competition between the members of team RWBY to see who could kill the most Grimm in one minute.

It became so much bigger than that.

It became a symbol of hope. Uniting Humanity in a desperate struggle against those that sought to destroy everything they knew.

It became a symbol of the Past, Reminding Humanity that they were only remnants and keeping those under its banner from repeating past mistakes.

It became a symbol of the Future, signifying the peace that Humanity was fighting to restore.

But most importantly, It symbolized those who had fallen, reminding the survivors of those who had given their lives for their peace.

The rose tattoo on each and every one of them symbolized this.

This is how it came to be.


	2. Team RWBY

_(AN) Hello there! Since you're reading this you actually clicked on my fic! Welcome! This is my first fic on this site and I hope you enjoy! I suggest listening to Rose Tattoo by The Dropkick Murphys as it is what partially inspired this little piece of head-canon I have here._

* * *

 **([BGM] Rose Tattoo – The Dropkick Murphys)**

* * *

It all started as a bet, a friendly competition between the members of team RWBY to see who could kill the most Grimm in one minute, and whoever won would have their symbol tattooed on the other members' right shoulder.

It was a close competition but in the end, Ruby managed to come out on top.

"Congrats sis!" Yang said after they had made it back to beacon, her sunny disposition not having dimmed in the slightest. "Guess that means we'll have to get your emblem as a tattoo, huh? That's fine with me!"

"Why did I let myself get dragged into this?" Weiss muttered to herself as she slumped forward, disappointed that she lost the bet. Blake, on the other hand, didn't mind all that much.

"You guy's don't have to you know?" Ruby said.

"Of course we have to Rubes!" Yang shouted as she ruffled her sisters hair, "you won the bet after all!"

"And a Schnee never goes back on her word after all," Weiss said agreeing, if a little grumpily, Blake agreeing as well.

"Then… then I'll get the tattoo too!" Ruby yelled with determination.

"Alright! Then we'll all have matching tattoos. Good thinking, Rubes. I know just the place to get them too!" Yang exclaimed excitedly.

A week later each of the girls had Ruby's emblem tattooed on their right shoulder.

* * *

 _(AN) I'll continue to update as I finish chapters and will lengthen this chapter soon._


	3. Team JNPR

_(AN) Hi again! I just wanted to explain the story before we progress any further. No Spoilers just an explanation of this little head canon. Basically this is an AU where RWBY gets a tattoo of Ruby's rose emblem and this comes to symbolize friendship and later loyalty to Ruby and her cause. This might start to diverge from canon at some point (more then it already has) but I cannot guarantee when or if this will happen._

* * *

Jaune was the first to notice the new tattoos, oddly enough. It had been over a month since RWBY had first gotten the tattoos and no one had noticed the tattoos up 'til then, even though none of them had actively tried to hide them.

"Ruby, I was wondering, why do you guys all have matching tattoos now?" He asked her after a few days of wondering about it.

"It's to symbolize our friendship with each other," Ruby said slightly embarrassed about the subject, "We made a bet with each other after Yang suggested that we get something to symbolize our bond."

"Woah, that's pretty awesome Ruby," Jaune said gazing at the tattoo on her arm after she rolled up her sleeve to show him. "I wish we had something like that, we are best friends after all."

Suddenly an idea hit them simultaneously. "You/I should get the tattoo too!" They shouted at the same time then each chuckled awkwardly as they realized what just happened.

"I guess great minds think alike huh, Jaune?" Ruby asked as she smiled at her best friend.

"Yeah, I guess they do." Jaune said lightheartedly.

"I remember the place that we got ours! I'll take you there after school, 'kay Jaune?" Ruby cheered as she bounced excitedly on her feet.

"Sure thing!" Jaune said smiling at the adorable reaper.

* * *

Ren noticed Jaune's discomfort the next day when he went to wake Jaune up that morning.

"What's wrong with your shoulder?" The stoic boy asked Jaune with slight concern as he pulled the blonde out of earshot of his other teammates.

"Well… yesterday I found out Team RWBY all got matching tattoos to symbolize their friendship with each other and I… got one too." Jaune said awkwardly removing his sleep shirt and the bandages over his shoulder to show Ren the tattoo, "My aura already healed most of it, it's just a little sore, that's all."

"Jaune, that was actually quite a brave thing to do," Ren said with approval in his voice, "however, you should probably have gotten something to symbolize your bond with OUR team, instead." The stoic boy continued gently.

"Oooohhh maaannn,"Jaune groaned out, "I messed up didn't I?"

"Messed up what Jauney-boy!?" Nora questioned as she popped up behind the two boys, startling Jaune while Ren just sighed, Pyrrha walking up behind her.

"Jaune got a tattoo yesterday to symbolize his friendship with Ruby and her team, but didn't think to do so for our team instead." Ren supplied.

"Oh…" Nora said sounding dejected, then she suddenly perked up "Then why don't we get matching tattoos too and then we'll ALL have friend tattoos!"

"That… sounds like a good idea Nora." Pyrrha said as she inspected the tattoo on Jaune's shoulder with a slight blush. "I do have to ask though, why Ruby's emblem?"

"Apparently Yang suggested the whole idea to the team and no one could agree on what the tattoo would be so the settled it with a competition that Ruby won." Jaune relayed what Ruby had told him on the way to the tattoo parlor yesterday to his team. "After class let's head to the tattoo parlor. I remember where it was."

The statement was met with cheers from the rest of the team except for Ren, who was, well, Ren.

* * *

 _(AN) Whoa! So many views in only a couple of hours! Thank you for viewing my story! Sorry I took so long to update. ;) BTW Constructive criticism is appreciated, as well as any other reviews and/or questions you may send my way. I'll answer to the best of my ability because I am eternally grateful!_


	4. Hiding

(AN) Yo! I just wanted to let everyone know that this story does have a plot and will deviate from canon. I have chapters planned out up to ten and others still swishing around in my brain. Also, thank you all for the support that the story has been getting up 'til now. BTW thanks to Metatality of Deviantart for the new Cover Image!

* * *

"Ruby!" Blake called out a few days after the incident at the docks. "We need to talk about the tattoos."

"What do you mean?" the reaper asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"I think we should start hiding them," Blake said, "to prevent people from getting any weird ideas about them."

Ruby thought about it for a moment, then agreed as she finished mulling it over.

"I… if you think so… I'll tell everyone else." Ruby told Blake, trusting her judgment.

* * *

[Later that day]

* * *

"What's this about, Ruby?" Jaune questioned looking around at the two teams gathered in RWBY's dorm room.

"Blake and I were talking earlier and we've decided that it would be best if we start hiding the tattoo." Ruby explained as she rubbed her the back of her neck, continuing, "It's to prevent anyone from getting the wrong idea about what the tattoos mean to us."

"People often fear and hate what they don't understand, and it's very likely they won't understand what these tattoos are for unless we explain." Blake explained to the group, "Therefore it's easier for us to hide the tattoos rather than explain it to everyone that happens to notice them."

"I understand what you mean." Jaune said as he nodded his head, looking around at the rest of his team. "What about you guys?"

"I think that's for the best." Pyrrha said while ren just nodded is assent, Nora on the other hand wasn't quite as understanding but acquiesced anyways.

"Aww… But they're sooo cool." Nora pouted, "But since Ren agreed I will too!" she finished nodding her head once energetically.

"Then it's settled, starting today teams RWBY and JNPR will be keeping the tattoos secret!" Ruby stated emphatically.

* * *

(AN) Here's Chapter 3 for you guys! I had some trouble writing it as I had some trouble figuring out how to make it fit into the flow of the story. Lemme know how I did! BTW, I've been forgetting the Disclaimer! So here's one to make up for the last three chapters as well as this one.

{Disclaimer} I do not own RWBY or it's characters. They belong to RoosterTeeth, and Monty Oum, may he rest in peace.


	5. MT Glenn

_(AN) Yo! I'm back again to give you some more RWBY goodness. But before I can do that I have to read the Disclaimer before Weiss smacks me upside the head again._

 _Weiss: Hey!_

 _I do not own any Characters depicted in this fiction, except for any OC's that may popup as background characters in this story. [Don't worry, they will only be there as background characters!]_

* * *

 **BGM: YouTube go here- /watch/?v=zVmdUKbbYoE#Halo_ODST_Piano_%26_Sax_Montage**

* * *

 **[Takes place during Mt. Glenn] {Ruby POV}**

* * *

I could see skeletons as we flew into the city. They were everywhere, the roofs, the streets, even hanging out of window frames that had been broken long ago. The whole place felt wrong.

"Ten seconds 'til drop-zone!" Our pilot shouted.

It felt as though the whole city was drenched in blood. If I concentrated hard enough I swear I could hear the screams and smell the blood. It sent a chill down my spine and left me dreading what was about to happen as we descended towards the landing zone.

"Let's move, girls." Doctor Oobleck shouted over the engines as he leapt out of the ship. We quickly followed suit, leaping out of the Bullhead, Zwei following shortly after us, somber and hyper-aware of our surroundings as the ship flew away from the landing zone. I rubbed my shoulder for comfort as we started our patrol into the city.

"Ladies, from this point forward you need to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?" The doctor questioned as we slowly moved through the ruins.

"Yes." We chorused as a group, Zwei yipping his agreement as he took point.

"Oh and thank you Ruby for suggesting that we bring Zwei along for our mission. His nose will be invaluable in sniffing out clues." Oobleck said as he followed behind Zwei.

"No problem Dr. Oobleck." I replied.

We continued through the empty street, surrounded by cracked concrete and bloodstained walls, until Zwei and the doctor stopped abruptly.

"Grimm." Oobleck stated as he moved to hug a wall motioning for us to do the same, "a Beowolf approximately 100 yards ahead."

I pulled out Crescent Rose in its rifle form and started lining up the shot before Dr. Oobleck stopped me.

"Wait." He said, pushing the barrel of my rifle down, "Grimm are attracted to negativity, feelings such as hatred and sadness. This may lead the Grimm to our friends in the White Fang, and us as well if we follow them."

Just then the Grimm turned it's head in our direction and howled as the rest of the pack came bounding towards our position.

"Never mind." he slumped slightly as I brought the rifle back up and fired, taking the Grimm's head off it's shoulders, as we moved in to exterminate the pack.

* * *

 **(Time skip)[That evening after Ruby follows Zwei]{Ruby's POV}**

* * *

A thunderstorm had moved in during the night, blocking out the moon and making travel through the destroyed city a hazardous task for anyone that attempted it.

Luckily enough, Uncle Qrow had trained me in how to navigate in low visibility, so it wasn't much of a problem as I had followed Zwei on his trip, and later the guards that had led me straight to their base.

What was a problem, however, were the two White Fang guards that were aiming their weapons at me as I stood among the rubble leftover from my fall through the street above.

Seeing as how I had lost Crescent Rose a few hundred feet above, and "couldn't beat up a fly without my weapon" as Yang put it, I didn't have many options.

So I smiled.

Then I stepped off the side of the roof.


	6. Update!

**_(Author Update)_**

 ** _Yo! I felt that it was necessary to give an update before continuing further into the story._**

 ** _First, Yes this is AU territory. Tread only if you dare._**

 ** _Second: On the topic of OC's, there will not be a single OC in this story. However, I still need characters to fill certain voids in the story, so to circumvent this I will be using characters from other famous series. So far I have planned to include Big Boss and Kazuhira Miller from MGS to fill in as teachers for Hand-to-hand combat, and Kuroki Tomoko and Izumi Konata to fill in as Ruby's "friends" from Signal. This will not be posted in the X-Over section though as they will not have a major impact on the plot. They are only here as "flavor" characters._**

 ** _Finally: The next chapter will be up within the next two days!_**

 _ **I thank you all for the support you've given the series so far and hope you continue to read!**_

 _ **The-Shadows-of-War**_


	7. The Tomb

_**(Ruby's POV)**_

* * *

I immediately used my semblance to land in a room in the adjacent building, several floors below where I was, and immediately started moving as quickly and as quietly as possible away from the two faunus.

"Was that a ghost!?" One of the White Fang grunts asked as he looked over the edge, shaking visibly at seeing nothing but rose petals slowly floating to the ground.

"No, ghosts don't exist." The other said as he pulled out a radio, "Sir, we spotted a little girl standing on the roof of one of the buildings down here. It seems she fell through the street above."

"That… would be bad." Their boss, Roman Torchwick, replied over the radio. "Where is she now?"

"She jumped off of the roof, Sir," He informed Torchwick, "There isn't a body."

"Then she's not dead. Everyone goes on high alert. I'm sending a search team out now. I want her found." Torchwick didn't seemed pleased at all, "You two guard the entrance. Nothing gets in or out."

I didn't hear anything else as I continued moving away from my makeshift entry point, hoping to find something I could use as a makeshift weapon, finally finding two steel pipes lying on the ground in the next hallway. _**(I actually have one, thing weighs about three pounds and is a foot long.)**_

"I guess these will have to be my Thorns," I said as I gave one pipe an experimental swing. It seemed to be slightly rusted, but they would definitely get the job done.

'I hope I don't have to use them,' was my only thought as I continued through the near pitch-black darkness inside the building, 'Now to get to the next building.'

After a minute or so of moving through the dark hallways I finally made it through to the other side of the building. Looking out the window at the street below I could see that the area was almost completely devoid of life, the exception being a massive man with a weaponized chainsaw standing in the direct center of the street, and from the looks of it, he had seen me.

"Hey there, Little Red," His deep voice echoed around the street, "Nice cloak."

Yep. He had definitely seen me. I dropped out of the window and landed on the sidewalk below, walking up to stand in front of the giant. A deep chuckle emanated from the man.

"So you're what had those two so unnerved?" He said, still chuckling slightly, "A little girl with two rusty pipes? I won't even need BaneSaw for this fight." He continued, slinging the inactive chainsaw onto his back and raising his hands as he stepped into a relaxed fighting stance. "Let's see what you've got, Little Red."

I immediately activated my semblance and dashed straight for him, slamming a pipe directly into his face faster than he could react and knocking him back, breaking the bottom part of his mask off, followed by a blow to the chest and another to his knee, knocking him off his feet.

"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" His mouth stretched into a full Cheshire grin, showing off razor-sharp teeth and a busted lip. "I guess I was wrong about you, Little Red." He stood and unsheathed the chainsaw all in a single movement. "My name is Alan B. Lupine. I'll be your Big Bad Wolf for tonight."

Then he charged me, swinging his massive weapon over his head and down at me. I brought one of the pipes up to block his swing, but the chainsaw slashed straight through my weapon. If I hadn't dodged out of the way at the last second I would have lost my arm at the shoulder. As it stood, my sleeve covering the tattoo was ruined, so I ripped it off. I threw the ruined pipe at him and turned to run…

Only to be smacked in the face by a familiar cane.

"Hey there Red, nice tattoo." Roman Torchwick said before he kicked me in the temple, everything fading to black.

* * *

 _ **[AN] Before everyone kills me, I decided to name the White Fang Lt. Alan B. Lupus, and yes the name does loosely follow the color rule. His full name is Alan Baster Lupus. It's a play on the word alabaster, which is white, and lupus, which is the latter half of the scientific name for wolves. White Wolf, White Fang, get it? Now back to the story.**_

* * *

 _ **(Still Ruby's POV)**_

* * *

When I came to I was being dragged through the white fang's camp, surrounded by activity as they packed a train full of _something_.

'What is the White Fang doing? These tunnels have been sealed for years.' I thought to myself, as we finally arrived at their destination, where Torchwick was already waiting to question me.

"Once again, I must say, that's a nice tattoo there, Red" He said chuckling as he inspected the rose on my arm, before continuing, "But seriously, how'd you find this place, Red?" Before he could ask anything else, there was an explosion nearby, and screams as more White fang soldiers appeared, firing as the ran from… what? Grimm? The answer presented itself by way of my teammates and Dr. Oobleck!

I quickly leapt onto Torchwick from behind, slamming his hat down over his eyes and fleeing towards my team.

"Somebody kill her!" Roman shouted behind me as they opened fire, forcing me to weave through the bullets. Suddenly, four more grunts jumped in front of me and raised their weapons, preparing to gun me down where I was, before Yang sent them flying with a concussive round from her gauntlets.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted as she scooped me up into a hug, Weiss asking if I was okay from behind her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I reassured as Yang set me down, Dr. Oobleck moving forward to check on me.

"Is your arm alright?" he asked, moving closer to inspect the red on my shoulder, thinking it might've been a wound, before stepping back, saying "Never mind, I thought it was something else."

"Listen, Torchwick's got all sorts of weapons and robots down there." I said urgently, Taking Crescent Rose from Blake as she handed it to me, "Androids, mechs, they're all loaded up on the train cars."

"Ah, that's preposterous, these tunnels are sealed. Those tracks lead to a dead end." Dr. Oobleck stated confidently, just as Torchwick came over the intercom system to announce that the train was leaving.

"Well they're going _somewhere_ ,"Yang said, sounding exasperated at the whole situation.

"We need backup, let me call Jaune." I said, calling him up through speed dial. Unfortunately enough the signal was too weak to get through.

"So what do we do?" Weiss asked, sounding exasperated as well.

"I believe we only have one option," Dr. Oobleck started.

"We're stopping that train." I finished for him.

* * *

 _ **(AN) And that's a wrap for my longest chapter yet! Thank you all for your continued support of the story. I won't be covering the train fight because I have nothing to add to it. However, I will be expanding on the Breach. Let me know what you guys think! I'll see you all soon!**_


	8. Battle of the Breach

_**(Ruby POV)**_

* * *

We were trapped.

I could hear the screaming from outside the ice barrier we had encased ourselves in to protect from the impact of the train crashing into the barrier. Turns out, we had done a little too well in making the ice.

Even worse, the sirens weren't going off.

"Yang, do you think you can break the ice for us." I asked, looking at her desperately.

"Of course," Yang assured, rearing her fist back and slamming it into the barrier, shattering it finally.

"Team RWBY! Focus on civilian protection!" I commanded, rocketing off to decimate a group of Beowolves. Looking around, things were looking dire. People were already lying dead in the street, while others were taking shelter wherever they could. We weren't going to win unless we could get help.

"I'm going to activate the alarms!" I shouted, activating my semblance and sprinting towards where I remember being told the alarms were for this district, tearing apart any Grimm that got in my path as the others continued to try and stem the flow of Grimm into the city. I activated the switch for the alarms the moment I arrived, hoping they would sound, but they didn't. I immediately pulled out my scroll and sent an emergency message to Professor Ozpin through the specialized system in the scroll.

'Hopefully he gets the message soon.' I thought, dashing off again to eviscerate another pack of Beowolves that had just came through the massive hole that had been opened up by the train crash. Dodging a volley of feathers fired by a Nevermore, I heard the sirens finally start up, amidst the gunfire and screams of the dying.

"Weiss, use ice dust to help stem the breach! Blake, help me clear a landing zone for reinforcements! Yang, I need you to protect Weiss as she temporarily seals the breach." I said moving towards the raised platform in the middle of the square to start clearing out the Grimm there, Blake moving there as well.

A little further into the battle Dr. Oobleck emerged from the breach with Zwei, lending his flamethrower towards the battle as well. But we were still losing ground. An explosion sent glass flying past my arm, cutting me directly above the tattoo and forcing me to bandage it. I wasn't the only one that got hurt either. Weiss reopened the cut over her eye, Blake took some shrapnel to the leg, and Yang was going to bruise horribly after this was all over. It took another five minutes for backup to arrive. First onto the scene was Jaune and his team, immediately cutting us some slack as the Grimm were divided between the two teams. Further help came in the form of teams CFVY and armed civilians who were brave enough to fight back. Finally the Atlesian Knights joined the battle as Professor Goodwitch completely sealed the breach.

"Good work, teams, but we're not done yet." Professor Goodwitch intoned grimly, "As of this moment all teams present are to work on search and rescue in the area to insure the safety of the rest of the civilians here. Team RWBY, take a detachment of knights and head to the northern sector of the city. CFVY head to the East, and JNPR head West. Professors Port, Oobleck and I will take the Southern sector of the city. Move out!"

* * *

 _ **{Time skip}[10 hours later]**_

* * *

The Search and rescue op was finally over.

The casualties were horrible. 400+ dead and another thousand injured. All in an attack that lasted all of thirty minutes. If it wasn't for Professor Goodwitch there would have been hundreds of thousands in property damage as well. As it stood, at least humanity survived to fight another day.


	9. Arc 2 Teaser

_**[Ruby's POV]**_

* * *

I couldn't move.

"Ready!" A distorted voice shouted.

No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't move. I trust my friend to do her job. Even with the .45 caliber pistol pointed at my head, I refuse to lose belief in her.

"Aim!" The same voice shouted once again.

I hope this works.

"Fire!" Then the gun flashed.

And..

I...

Fell...

* * *

 _ **(AN) And there's the teaser for the next arc of this story, now that I finally figured out what to do next. I know. I'm an evil person. Also, I found a Beta for the story! He's a cat, and his name is TheMAO17. You should check out his profile! He's pretty good. Anyways, I'll see you all in a week. Ciao!**_


	10. Discussions

**A/N: Yo! I must apologize for the delay. This chapter did NOT want to be written. When I finally wrote it, it didn't feel right, so I started over.**

 **So here you go! The start of the Second Part of Act One.**

* * *

 **Preparations I: Aftermath**

* * *

 _(Two weeks earlier)_

 **[Ruby's POV]**

"We failed."

"…"

"The more I think about The Breach, the more this becomes clear to me…."

" _I_ failed."

"…"

"The whole reason Torchwick knew we were there was because I wasn't good enough."

"…"

"I _need_ to get better. I couldn't defend myself without my weapon. That can't happen again."

"…"

"I wasn't the only who failed, though. We _all_ can improve."

Those were the words I spoke as we sat in our dorm, discussing the aftermath of The Breach. The rest of my team was sitting on their bunks, listening to what I was saying.

"I agree with Ruby," Blake stated. "The question is…how?"

She looked at the rest of us for answers, but I had none right away. And neither did Weiss and Yang.

The room was quiet for a moment as we considered what to say.

…

…

…

"Ruby is useless without her weapon," Yang finally said. "I think I might know someone that can help."

Ok, good. We're getting somewhere.

Yang continued with her own faults. "That ice cream chick was too fast for me. I want payback. The guy I mentioned might be able to help me out, too. What else?"

Now Weiss spoke. "We rely too much on our Auras for protection. Especially Yang."

I saw Yang wince, and I did too.

"Definitely," Blake agreed. "It limits the use of our Semblances, which for most of us is the backbone of our fighting styles."

Blake cupped her chin. "But…how do we fix this?"

I cupped my chin as well, deep in thought….

"Ooh, we could all wear armor!" I exclaimed, mind racing with possibilities. "If we don't have to worry as much about getting hit, we could focus more of our Auras towards our Semblances."

"Ruby, isn't armor kind of heavy?" Weiss pointed out, instantly seeing the biggest flaw in the plan. "How will all that extra weight help us in a fight?"

"That's the point!" I shouted excitedly, "The armor can be a kind of weight training. As our bodies get used to wearing it we'll get stronger."

"Maybe," Yang conceded…then pointed out the flaw in the idea. "But my Semblance relies on taking damage. I don't know how armor will effect that."

"Your Semblance requires blunt force, right?" Blake said, cogs working in her head. "No other kinds like cutting?"

"Yeah." Yang confirmed. "What difference does that make?"

"I see what Blake's getting at," Weiss nods in understanding. "If we make your armor specifically designed to deflect energy and sharp weapons, while making sure it doesn't absorb blunt force, your semblance won't be affected."

Yet, Weiss found one final flaw. "That's all well and dandy, but _where_ are we going to get this armor?"

I smiled, already having figured that part out.

"My friend from Signal can do it! She's the best armor-smith I know! All we'd have to do is get the materials."

I looked towards Weiss with a pouty yet hopeful look, silently asking for her help in that regard.

Weiss sighed and nodded her head. "I can take care of that."

Yes! Pouty Ruby always works!

"Everyone for this new plan of action?" I called out.

Blake nodded. "I agree."

Weiss shrugged. "Sure, what harm can it do?"

Yang pumped her fist. "Yeah!"

"Us too, us too!" Nora.

…

…

…

Wait, what?

"Nora?!" I exclaimed in surprise, spinning around to look at our door, which had slammed open with the Valkyrie's shout, revealing all of Team JNPR.

"Hiya Ruby!" Nora giggled as she bounced into the room, followed by the rest.

"Can we join in?" Pyrrha asked, knowing that they could help. "We could help each other get better."

"Yeah!" Nora shouted enthusiastically. "We can train together and spar! That way we can all be better together!"

"I agree," Ren nodded. "It does seem mutually beneficial. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to meet this teacher that Ruby and Yang are going to meet."

Nora bounced with glee. "And this idea of armor is awesome! I want mine to be pink!"

Weiss looked to me with a questioning look, "Ruby?"

Hmm. It _would_ help us get better faster. And maybe they could help us if we need it.

"That sounds…" I said slowly, thinking it over. "…Awesome! If we all train together we'll be able to help each other get better even faster!"

I zipped over to my first friend, eyes shining with excitement. "What do you think Jaune?"

Jaune looked to his teammates, who gave him smiles and nods (a thumbs up from Nora).

He turned back to me with a grin. "I think it's a great idea!"

"Yay!" I said as I jumped up in joy. "Let the RWBY-JNPR joint training commence!"

* * *

 **A/N: And here's the beginning of part two of Act One.**

 **Thank you for reading and see you in three months!**

…

…

…

 **Nah just kidding. I'll have the next chapter for you in a week.**


	11. CQC

**[Ruby Rose POV]**

Ren, Yang and I stood before a middle-aged man who wore a tactical combat attire, which even included a bullet-proof vest, consisting of a dark color scheme. He had a bandana wrapped around his forehead, as well as an eye-patch over his right eye.

This man's name…is Solid Snake.

"So you need my help."

I could tell he phrased that as a statement rather than a question.

"Sure do." Yang confirmed, nodding her head at the grizzled man.

"Are you sure you three want to do this?" He asked, making sure we knew what we were asking of him. "I'm not going to go easy on you three. I'm going to push you as far as I can to see what I'm dealing with."

"A test?" I asked the bandana-wearing man.

"Yep, and no weapons either," He added, grinning at us. "I want all of you to come at me. No holding back either."

"On three?" Ren asked, settling into a fighting stance. I moved to imitate him.

"One…" I said, starting the countdown.

"Two…" Ren continued, his eyes calm and calculating.

"THREE!"

And with my sister's shout, the fight began.

Yang immediately charged at the man, while I used my semblance to boost me into a sliding tackle aimed at his legs as Ren moved to get behind him. I expected him to step out of the way of my attack, and he did, but he stepped towards Yang, getting inside of her hook that she had thrown. Grabbing her arm, he used her momentum to slam her down on top of me as I slid past.

For a person with a locked aura, the fight would have been over for me then and there. My ribs would have been bruised, if not broken. Luckily enough, I did* have my aura unlocked, so instead my Aura dropped by 30%.

Snake seemed to notice this, and purposefully** hesitated just long enough for Ren to dive into the fight with a flurry of strikes.

Snake weaved through the blows, observing the boys technique while testing his defenses by throwing in a couple of strikes here and there. Suddenly, he tossed Ren over his shoulder and into a tree, removing him from the fight for a while.

By this point, Yang had stood back up and was moving back towards the man. I was still winded. Just because my Aura protected me from any lasting damage, did not mean it didn't hurt.

Meanwhile, Snake was repeating his performance with Yang, except instead of just throwing a few strikes to test her defenses, he outright hit her in several different places, several times, noting how she reacted to each strike and where his blows were most effective.

As a final test, he reached out and…plucked one of Yang's hairs out of her head….

Uh oh.

He stepped back, observing her explosive rage at his actions. She launched herself forward with one of her characteristic haymakers, which he sidestepped with apparent ease. Then, he disabled her with a quick blow to the base of the skull, not hard enough to cause any real damage, but certainly enough to knock her out.

Finally, it was my turn to be "assessed" by the bandana-wearing man. I settled into a basic fighting stance, one taught to me by Uncle Qrow back at Signal. I could have used my semblance to help even the odds, but two things stopped me.

First, I think he would have had a counter for it anyways, if the stories Yang told us on the way over were anywhere near true.

Second, and more importantly…I felt like using my semblance in this fight would be missing the point of his little test.

So I approached, attacking the man with everything I had. By the end of it though, I was lying on the ground, his fist hovering over my throat in the standard "killing blow"***.

"That'll do." He said as he opened his hand and stood slightly, offering to help me up, which I gladly took.

"That was awesome!" I told Snake, my eyes gleaming in awe, even if this was the man who had just taken down both my team's and team JNPR's hand-to-hand combat specialists.

"Practice makes perfect." He said nonchalantly, smirking a bit as he pulled out a cigarette.

Yang and Ren quickly joined us in the middle, the former glaring at the grizzled man for the stunt he pulled.

"Now that we're all together, how did we do?" Ren asked pensively, gazing calmly at the man who flung him into a tree.

"Glad you asked, kid," Snake said to Ren. "Out of the three of you, you have the best technique. However, you need work on your defense. While it's okay, it's nothing to send home about."

He turned to Yang. "On the other hand, you, Yang, have a pretty competent defense, even if it can improve. However, your biggest problem is your anger."

Yang seemed ready to retort, but Snake cut her off. "Yeah, anger can be a useful tool, but if you let yourself be controlled by your anger instead of just fueled by it, it will make you sloppy, predictable, and leave you wide open to counterattack."

Yang seemed to deflate at this, realizing he was right. "Yeah…you're right. It's just…it's so hard sometimes, ya know?"

Snake just smiled at her, a small sad smile that spoke of experience with what she said.

Finally, he turned to me.

"And finally, there's you, Ruby. To put it simply, you barely have a foundation, let alone any skill in fighting hand-to-hand. Why do you want to be taught by me?"

He looked at mw, waiting for an answer.

I took a deep breath and let it out….

"For the longest time, I thought 'I'll never need anything other than Crescent Rose.' But…just recently, I found myself without my weapon, and stranded by myself in the middle of enemy lines. I never really stood a chance. It's…it's been bugging me ever since then. _Gnawing_ at me, keeping me awake at night."

I looked up at him, my eyes gleaming with determination.

"I never want to be in that position again… _helpless_ against the dark."

Snake pursed his lips at what I said….

"That's all the answer I needed," he finally said, looking over at the three of us.

"Every day from now on you and your teams will meet here for your training. Afterwards I'll teach you three hand-to-hand while the rest of your teams will leave."

His tone brooked no argument over the matter.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, happy that he had agreed to train us.

Looks like things were looking starting to look up for a change.

* * *

 **A/N: My first 1000 word chapter? And no Author's Note at the beginning!? What madness has befallen me!? Also, special thanks to Le MAO XVII for his wonderful editing skills.**

 ***Yeah, I know everyone knows that Ruby has her Aura unlocked, but I had to make a comparison with a normal human being and this was the best way I could think of.**

 ****He wants to test them, not knock them out before he can really observe anything about them.**

 *****For those uninformed, one way to end a sparring match is to place, or strike, at the opponent's throat, stopping just short of actually touching them. This signifies a killing blow, or what would have been a killing blow had the attacker not stopped. This signifies the match is in favor of the attacker and they are rewarded either the "round" or point, or the match all together.**


End file.
